The Panthers lost to the Tennessee Titans during yesterday afternoon’s preseason game by a score of 34-27, but as we all know, these contests are mostly about individual evaluation and performance. Let’s talk about who helped themselves out, and who did not.
Winners
Christian McCaffrey
Preseason game two was more of the same from the Panthers first round draft selection. More big plays, and another display of his pure speed and agility. McCaffrey made his first end zone splash on Saturday, and that is certain to be the first of many. While it wasn’t the only highlight play, his big reception on a screen pass is something the Panthers are probably going to rely on a fair amount this year. It has been a long time since the Panthers had a weapon like that in their backfield, if they ever have.
David Mayo
While the Titans by and large got the meaty bits of the first half sandwich, they forgot to hold the Mayo. The Panthers fourth round pick from three seasons ago is finally in a position to get noticed, and has the inside track to be the primary backup to Luke Kuechly. In fact, it would not surprise me if Mayo is expected to spread himself amongst every linebacker position and become a versatile backup like A.J. Klein was. He cleaned up today with an impressive 10 tackle stat line, and was pretty much the star of the defense in the first half.
Alex Armah
With the departure of Mike Tolbert, the Panthers are looking for a versatile fullback that can be both a traditional blocker and a threat to carry/catch the football. Alex Armah scored his first NFL touchdown today on a play where any sane human being would have assumed he stepped out of bounds. Instead, Alex strong Armah’d the defense by “getting small” along the sidelines and charging for the end zone. With only DBs standing in his way, they made the smart life decision to not get in his way. He also made a critical block that helped spring Cameron Artis-Payne for a big run:
Alex Armah with a great kick out block for a log gain. Followed by a catch and run for a TD pic.twitter.com/LJbK7OZL6H
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 19, 2017
Note that the person circled in the second sub-section of this clip is not Alex Armah, it is Greg Van Roten, who himself does an excellent job pulling and sealing the inside. Armah is the lead blocker, and blocks his man well outside and pancakes him, creating a nice hole for Cameron Artis-Payne. Speaking of...
Cameron Artis-Payne
CAP might be the biggest surprise performer of the day, attempting to make his case for why the Panthers should choose him as the third running back instead of Fozzy Whitaker. Rivera said after the game that CAP is making things difficult on the coaches, and it looks like once again the team is going to have to make a cut they don’t want to at that spot. CAP took his five carries for a whopping 70 yards and a touchdown, while showing excellent decision making at the line of scrimmage and deceptive agility in the open field. He wears that number 34 honestly, because at times to me, he looked like a younger and less salty DeAngelo Williams.
Joe Webb
The Carolina Panthers have one of the most set quarterback depth charts in the NFL, but perhaps they should begin to look toward the future. Joe Webb continued his impressive preseason, and certainly looked like the more worthy backup to Cam Newton on Saturday than Derek Anderson did. Webb was 5/6 for 67 yards and a touchdown, but it was his escape ability in the pocket that was most important for the team. Extending plays is something Cam Newton is known for, and Joe Webb is a QB in that same vein. While I don’t anticipate any depth chart moves this year, don’t be surprised if Derek Anderson calls it a career next year and the team elevates Webb to the backup spot.
Losers
Derek Anderson
7/12 for 88 yards and one terribly bad interception, it was not the kind of day you want to see from your backup quarterback. The #StartDA crowd was notably silent during this one, and I can’t imagine why. Derek Anderson, despite good protection once again from his hog mollies, did not have a good game. His passes were wobbly and lacked velocity as well as accuracy. He has not had a particularly good preseason, and myself and others are starting to wonder if Joe Webb isn’t actually the best backup QB on this team currently.
Devin Funchess
Yes, Devin. You did make a football move... and ol’ boy for the Titans just popped that ball right out of there. While credit is due for a perfectly executed peanut punch by the Titans DB, it is not a good day when your only reception ends up in a turnover. It has been a mixed preseason for Funchess, and at this point, the team need more out of him. His job is not on the line, but we need to see more plays out of him if we are going to have a great offense this year.
Jeremy Cash
This will be the second week in a row that Cash makes this unfortunate section, and that is regardless of him recording a late game sack. At this point, there is no evidence of progress from the young safety convert, and there really is no excuse for his sloppy tackling. With a talented and deep group of linebackers on the roster, I would not be surprised to see Cash lose his roster spot to Jared Norris or Ben Jacobs, who have both had better preseasons.
Safeties
It was a really bad day to be a safety for the Panthers. Mike Adams allowed an easy end zone touchdown to Delanie Walker. Colin Jones missed at least two tackles that I could count. Dezmen Southward looked like the worst parts of Tre Boston out there, missing a couple of his own, and got hurt to boot (though he did return). With Dean Marlowe being released, this safety group is dangerously thin at the moment, and currently I don’t see any viable depth. The Panthers should consider making a trade prior to final roster cutdowns in the hopes that they can get one reliable backup at the position. If that doesn’t happen, they certainly should sift through the waived players for help.
What do you think Panthers fans? Who was the big winner yesterday?
Poll
Who was the biggest winner in yesterday’s preseason loss to the Titans?
This poll is closed
-
45%
Christian McCaffrey
-
8%
David Mayo
-
14%
Alex Armah
-
21%
Cameron Artis-Payne
-
8%
Joe Webb
-
0%
Other (explain in the comments)